


Growing Up Villainous

by wckdlytwstd



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Adoptive Siblings, Aged Down Characters, Minor Character Death, Non linear storytelling, blackhat family, but he is trying his best i promise, cursing, ill add more later, just a bit, questionable parenting, there is no paperhat in this, unconventional family setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-15 22:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12329751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wckdlytwstd/pseuds/wckdlytwstd
Summary: The Art of Raising a Villain: A Beginners Guide to Parenting for the Evilly Inclined. An old debt comes back around and Blackhat inherits a few new members to his household. Its been a few centuries since he has actually been around children and he may or may not be a little out of his depth.





	1. Arrival

_Knock Knock_

It was not unheard of for there to be someone at his door. He got visitors. Sometimes. On the very rare occasion…Girl scouts, Jehovah Witnesses, the occasional Mary Kay sales lady. It honestly added a bit of fun to his day, screwing with the naïve fools that wondered onto his doorstep, which was the only reason he would levered himself out of his throne and make the decent to the foyer.

However, when he opened the ostentatiously ornate front door of his mansion he did not find some little girls with a too bright fake smiles and a wagon full of cookies. They were still children though…

Before him stood two kids. The girl looked older, perhaps ten or eleven though he was never good with pegging human ages. Most of the tiny ones looked the same to him. For some hell forsaken reason she had some kind of lizard hood draped over the brightest red hair he had ever seen, like the color of freshly spilled blood. In one hand she was clutching a beaten up old suitcase covered in stickers. In the other she held onto her companion.

This one was a small stringy slip of a kid, but due to the paper bag and large tinted googles the demon couldn’t tell whether it was male or female. They were clutching at the girl’s arm with hazmat glove covered fingers, fiddling with the lapels of the lab coat they were practically swimming in it was so big. Something about this one was niggling at the back of Blackhat’s conscious.

‘Mr. Blackhat?’ the girl spoke up when he failed to give any form of greeting. The high squeaky voice grated on his senses.

‘Wha-‘ he began but was cut off by the girl shoving a paper she had retrieved from her hoodies pocket in his face.

‘This is for you. Read it.’

The demon reared back slightly from the quickness of the action. He went cross-eyed to stare at the offending object that had been thrust in his face, the beginnings of a growl building in his throat. How dare this little scrap of a human demand anything of him on his own doorstep? He had ripped people to shreds for much less. These kids, they were just asking for it.

Then his eye focused on the logo at the top of the paper and he paused. He knew that symbol…

‘Give me that!’ His claws tore the page from the girl’s grasp. On the front was the symbol that had caught his eye in faded blue ink a set of interlinking circles with an explosion behind it. Flipping it over Blackhat saw his name scrawled in neat blue script. Intrigued he opened the page and read.

_My Dear Blackhat,_

_How are you? I’m sure it has been a while since we have seen each other and I apologize for the absence. However, I will be unable to correct the error as if you are reading this then I am dead. Shame really. I was looking forward to another one of our chess games. But alas such is the lot of a human._

_But enough pleasantries, and down to business. Demencia knows where this letter is stored and she is under strict instructions for what she should do in the case of my death. I can only hope that everything went according to plan and both of them have made their way safely to your door._

_You remember my son don’t you? Flugsevier. I think the last time you saw him was when he was only three. As I write my darling boy just had his sixth birthday, though I’ve no idea how old he is at the present moment. My dear Demencia is the daughter of an employee of mine who has since passed. I consider her my own and she looks after Flugsy. Despite what she looks like, Demmy is actually quite the little fighter. And Flug, well he’s a chip off the old block. Such a bright boy, very talented just like his mother._

_I believe both of them could be very useful to you in time. And let’s be honest, who better to raise a couple of top notch villains than the master of evil himself? I would like you to look after my children in my absence. I know it’s asking a lot of you but I don’t trust anyone else for this._

_Plus you owe me._

_Sincerely,_

_The ghost who will haunt your ass till the ends of time if you screw with my kids._

_Dr. Slys_

Two set of eyes were staring up at him expectantly when he looked up from the letter too shocked to react quite yet.

‘Well shit.’


	2. Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blackhat adjust to having kids in his home and seeks advice from a long time client.

“Yes, yes I understand that.” ….

“Of course I’m not going to fucking eat them. Why would you ev-“  …….

“Fair point.” ……..

“No, but what do I Do?? The girl is nuts and I can work with that. But I think the boy is broken. He won’t eat and all he does is sit in his room and cry.” ……. “No. I think I’m gonna have to put some actual effort into this. I have… spectral entities to consider.”

“…..I am. Not. Doing that.” ……..

“Ughhhhh fine, dammit! Fine!” _Sigh_ “Yes. Anytime. My door is open.”

Blackhat placed his cell down onto his polished desk’s surface with another drawn out sigh. As much as the witch annoyed him, Madame Cray was the only villain he trusted enough to seek advice from who might have some actual insight. She had reared an entire brood of children in her time on this planet. He hated to admit that there was an area of villainy in which he was lacking. However, he couldn’t even pretend to know the first thing about raising proper young villains. Maybe he would just mess up enough that they would go evil all on their own.

_It was an idea at least._

But he wasn’t going to get the chance to test it if the scientist’s stupid son starved himself to death within the first month.

Since those two had shown up on his doorstep, he had been in a bit weird limbo of numbness about the entire situation. He knew, without a doubt, that Dr. Slys would make good on her threat and despite being one of the most powerful black magic creatures in this realm he was _not_ touching a vengeful maternal poltergeist with a 10 foot pole. He did not need that kind of stress in his life.

So he had brought the two orphans inside. Given them a slap shod tour of the mansion, noting all the areas that were absolutely, under pain of torture, off limits. The way the girl had grinned at the word torture and the subsequent plotting light to her face did not instill faith in the demon that his orders would be obeyed. He couldn’t tell for the life of him what the boy was thinking. Those tinted googles making his gaze a bottomless void as he took in his surroundings silently. But Blackhat got the distinct impression that there was more to the kid than he was letting on.

After, he had shown them to a couple of guest rooms just down the hall from his own master suite. A snap of his fingers vanished the dust and the protective sheets from the lavishly decorated rooms. He had informed them dinner would be at six and left them to their own devices, retreating to his office to order food suitable for human consumption. His kitchen certainly didn’t have anything fit for humans much less children.

That’s when the boy had started refusing food, choosing to stay in his room despite the girl’s protests that he should come eat some of the pizza that Blackhat had order for them. He had paid it little mind at the time. The human would eat when he was hungry.

It continued on like that for almost a week. Blackhat had as little contact with the kids as possible only checking in once a day to inform them of meal times. The girl had discovered the ostentatiously large media center Blackhat had just because it was what you did in a massively expensive swanky manor.  The red head had planted herself squarely before the large digital screen and proceeded to binge on Japanese cartoons of all things. The bits he had heard while passing through sounded absolutely ridiculous.

Each time he looked in on the boy he was in the same place, squarely in the middle of the bed. A notebook clutched in his hands though he devoted his entire attention to the demon during his short visits.

Blackhat would inform him of the meal awaiting, pizza since it seemed to please the girl and was easy to order. The small boy would respond with a thank you, sir. And watch him with those owlish google eyes till he grunted uncommittedly and left. The boy never did emerge to retrieve dinner.

When he inquired from the girl she replied with a shrug.

‘Fluggy's like that sometimes. He’ll be okay…I think.”

That hesitance on her part is what drove Blackhat to contact Madame Cray. According to the sorceress, Flug was most likely suffering from the recent trauma of losing his mother and moving into a completely new environment. She had advised, much to Blackhat’s aggravation, speaking with the child. Seeing if there was something that could be done to pull him out of the slump.

Thus, with absolute abhorrence to what he was about to do, Blackhat descended the stairs from his office tower down to the bedroom corridor. Noticing the obnoxious amount of noise coming from the media room he could place the girl as thoroughly occupied. Raising a gloved fist he wrapped on the wood of the bedroom door.

His demonic hearing registered an intake of breathe and the sudden frantic rustling of cloth and paper. He got the distinct impression that something was being shoved under the bed before a soft warbling ‘yes’ sounded from within.

Opening the door Blackhat stepped into the room to find the boy in the usual position, eyes fixed upon the demon. The eldritch loitered in the doorway for a moment and the subtle tilt of the bagged head showed that the boy noticed the deviation from the normal routine. He then seized up where he sat as Blackhat proceeded into the room, something he hadn’t done before. He made his way to the bed, sitting down with a soft fwump far enough to give the boy plenty of breathing room.

Taking a fortifying breath Blackhat went right into it before he could think better of his plan.

‘So. What’s the deal kid?’

The sound of the demon’s grating voice seemed to shock the small human, causing him gave a start at the sudden noise his small hands gripping tighter to the notebook in his lap.

Apparently deciding to play dumb despite the fact that Blackhat knew that a Slys kid would be wicked sharp he replied with a tentative “Sir?”

Blackhat ground his teeth, regretting taking the villainess’s advice with every fiber of his being. He did not want to do this. Have a _heart to heart_ with an obviously distraught human. Display the necessary social cues of actually _caring_ about someone other than himself.

‘Don’t pull that shit with me. You know very well what. You haven’t left this room since you got here and, as far as I’m aware, not eaten a damn thing either. Last time I checked humans needed food.’ He should probably be trying to sound more concerned but the kid was lucky to be getting this much. Asking for a more sentimental tone was beyond the demon.

The goggles blinked at him twice, slowly, and the head tilt was exaggerated just the slightest bit more.

‘Oh…’ the muffled voice squeaked out. ‘I didn’t realize. I had snacks in my bag. And I just didn’t really…need to…well…’ the kid was obviously struggling to articulate what his reasons behind his isolation were. At least he wasn’t starving. Blackhat could check that off the mental list. From the sound of it the kid didn’t really even register that he had been acting oddly, but perhaps Blackhat had to consider that the Slys boy wouldn’t behave the same as a typical human child.

Maybe a different approach then.

In Blackhat’s experience idle humans had much too much time to themselves to think and work themselves into the _worst_ of emotional states. He had seen villains brood for years to ultimately fall into depressive slumps and never accomplish their goals. It was best to skip the brooding and get straight to work on the next problem, the next project, find purpose in their silly short lives.

‘Say kid.’ He started with a much more cheery tone. ‘You don’t happen to like science like you dear old mum do you?’

The boy visibly perked up at the word science though Blackhat noted the deflation slightly at the mention of his mother. _Noted: touchy subject, avoid if possible._ But ultimately he gave a hesitant nod in confirmation.

Blackhat stood abruptly from the bed and made towards the door throwing over his shoulder a brisk ‘Follow me kid.’

From the scrambling sounds behind him the boy had extracted himself from the bed and made to follow the eldritch out into the hallway. The trip was short just down to the stairs to the next level of the mansion. Blackhat strode confidently through the halls of his beautiful home while the boy padded softly behind him. It almost seemed like he was making an effort to minimize the presence he had in the mansion, not wanting to draw attention to himself. They paused before a large door that had an actual code pad beside it. There were very few rooms in the mansion that had additional security though this one had always seemed to warrant it. Long ago if anyone had the guts to break into the manor they would most likely make for what was behind this door or Blackhat’s personal office.

He keyed in the code and turned to see the boy staring intently at the pad, obviously curious about the extra security measure. Despite looking like a normal wooden swinging door it whooshed aside into the wall as the pad clicked from red to green.

“You can come up with your own code to use. I’ll key it in later.” He gestured the boy inside and was pleasantly surprised to hear the small intake of breath once the kid got a good look at the interior. “The previous scientist in my employ kitted this place out pretty well. However if there is something missing that you require you need only ask.” Blackhat explained as the boy took in the proper research laboratory that sprawled over the expanse of the room.

“I can…use this?” The boy asked, seemingly in disbelief that he would be allowed access to such a place.

Blackhat waved off the question turning to leave the room. It was obvious by the way the kid looked around trying to decide what to get into first that he had made a good call on pegging the kid’s interests. Of course a lab that had originally been equipped by his mother would appeal to him. It probably felt like home or something disgustingly sentimental like that.

“Sure kid, go nuts.” He replied.

Blackhat’s retreat to the door was impeded by the sudden locking of arms around his hips. It took him several moments to process that the kid was giving him what humans called a hug. It was in most instances a sign of affection but could be in certain circumstances a sign of appreciation if he remembered correctly.

The boy’s small voice, laced with happiness, squeaked out a “Thank you Mr. Blackhat sir. This is great.”

Unsure what the proper response was to end the physical contact that was growing awkward quickly for the eldritch, Blackhat hestiatnly patted the top of the boy’s bagged head, giving a non-committal _hmm_ of acknowledgement of the gratitude. Then pried the small arms away from his person turning the kid back around to face the lab, giving him a small push into the room. Then made a hasty exit, brushing nonexistent wrinkles from his pants to remove the feeling a pressure and warmth.

***

Back in his office Blackhat placed his phone down on his desk as it rang the Madame.

 ‘Blackhat, darling.’ Said a crisp elegant voice.

‘Good evening Madame.’

‘How did it go, darling?’

‘Madame I must commend you on your advice in this matter. Though my excellence in adapting to situations did lend to the majority of success your input was marginally valuable.’

There was a scoff from the other end of the line. ‘Of course, darling. So what was the issue? Did you talk?’

‘Yes, it does seem that the boy is still torn up about his mum. But I found the perfect remedy!’ The demon said pride slipping into his tone at his own cleverness.

‘Oh?’

‘Sure. All I had to do was show him his mum’s old lab and he seemed totally satisfied. Came out of the room and everything. Spoke more than three syllables even.’

‘Wait…you mean the weapons assembly lab Slys built in your mansion?’

‘The very same.’

‘Blackhat, please don’t tell me you set a nine year old loose in a fully equipped weapons of mass destruction laboratory!?’

‘Of course I did. He seemed excited. What’s the problem?’

Over the phone the sound of incomprehensible screeching could be heard but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of an explosion rocking the mansion.

This was quickly followed by maniacal laughter that the demon recognized as being quite similar to one Dr. Slys. He heard the slaps of Demencia's shoes as she headed down the stairs at a breakneck pace. Soon her own laughter joined the boy’s and the two children jabbered excitedly at each other.

Blackhat grinned to himself before picking the phone back up. ‘Oh I think this isn’t going to be as bad as I imagined. Thanks again, Madame. Good evening.’

‘Wait! Blackhat-!’

_Click_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No children were harmed in the making of this fanfic. I promise :) Poor Blackhat doesn't know what he's in for...

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pulling all the writing from the @growingupvillainous-au on my Tumblr over here just cause.


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